Money saving tips and debunking myths for your gas guzzler

WASHINGTON – You want to get the most mileage out of that pricey gallon of gas, but what’s the best way to do it?

The blog Fuel Fix answers some age old questions and debunks some popular myths about gas.

Top tips for saving gas while driving include the following:

Don’t carry around excess weight. Clean out the trunk, take down bike racks, etc.

If you’ll be sitting for awhile, turn your engine off.

Go easy on the herky-jerky driving. Don’t speed up just to hit the brakes.

When it comes to the best way to stay cool in the car, keep the windows up and air conditioning on. While using the A.C. does increase the load on your engine, rolling down the windows increases the drag on your car. To save the most gas you’ll need to sacrifice being cool by keeping the windows up and the A.C. off.

Busting popular gas myths:

Politicians impacting gas prices. This is one of the more debated misconceptions. Crude oil prices make up the bulk of gasoline prices, and those are set by the global market. Politicians can impact gasoline prices indirectly but have little direct impact.

Gas stations make a huge profit from gasoline. Many drivers believe gas stations are raking in huge profits on gasoline sales. In fact, it’s the opposite. Gas stations make cents on the dollar.